Welt seam



July 14, 1942. P. w. VALENTINE WELT SEAM Filed June 7, 1940 M m E v m c m m Patented July 14, 1942 j UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELT span Percy W. Valentine, Brooklyn, N. Y.- Application June 7, 1940, Serial No. 339,266

lclaim.

a welt seam between the facings of luslage, D

ticularly of the flexible side wall construction,

I sometimes referred to as grips, satchels, and is of course applicable to any kind or class of leather or canvas goods; and th object of the invention is to provide a welt construction of the character described comprising a flexible paper or other core of relatively soft texture forming the core portion of the welt proper and a wire strand preferably paper cover in forming a reinforcing or backing member for the welt to give greater strength and rigidity thereto; a further object being to provide a structur of the character described wherein the welt forming strip and a reinforcing strip are united to each other andto edge portions of two fabrics to house the. two strands within and between said strips in a single line of stitching or in a singl stitching operation to naturally simplify and economize the construction of welts of the class under consideration; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in a structure of the class and for the'purpose specified, which is constructed as more fully hereinafter described and claimed. 0

Th invention is fully disclosed in'the following specification of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the several parts of my invention are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view through adja cent edge portions of two parts joined by one of my improved welts, the section being substantially on the line l| of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of the several parts in forming the welt according to my invention, part of the welt being united by a single line of stitching, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modification.

To indicate one form of my improved welt seam, I have showna seam in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing for joining edge portions of two facing or siding sheets l0 and H, the sheets being shown in the position as .formed'by the full line illustration, and in the relative position when in use by the dot and dash indication. Th outer sur-' faces llla, Ila of the sheets, or in other words,

a the surfaces which are to be exposed in the use of the article are arranged in opposed relation in common alinement, as clearly seen in the drawing. It will be understood that any type of material may be employed in the sheets l0 and H such, for example, as canvas, or other fabric, leather, artificial leather, or suitable synthetic materials. In other words, the materials of the sheets l0 and II represent any, of the conventional covering materials used in articles of luggage, furniture upholstery, and thelike. It will also be noted that the materials in the two sheets l0 and II need not be the same, or being the same, they may be differently characterized as to color to produce ornamental effects adjoining the seam. The size, shape, and contour of the sheets I and II will, of course,.va'ry widely depending upon the particular article upon which the seam is employed. Disposed between the edge portions lllb, lib of 'the sheets, are a pair of head forming members or strands I2 and I3, the strand l2 being the main welt forming'member, and the strand l3 being a secondary welt forming or reinforcing member. A welt facing strip l4 extends around the strands l2 and I3 to completely envelop the strand l2 and substantially completely envelop the strand I3. The side portions Ma of the welt facing strip extend between the edge portions l0b, Nb of the sheets and the strands I2 and I3, and substantially meet at the side of the strand l3 opposed from the strand I2, as seen in Fig. 1 of the drawing. A secondary or inner welt facing strip l5 extends around the strand l3 and overlaps the strand [2 outwardly of the edge portions I 0b; Nb of the sheets, as

seen in Fig. 1, and the strips l4 and 15 together with the sheets l0 and II are drawn tightly around the strands I2 and i3 by a single line of stitching l0 passing through the superimposed strips and sheets and between the strands, as will be apparent. This stitching will form a valley or depression at each side of the welt between the strands or cords extending longitudinally thereof; and these .valleys or depressions will facilitate folding of the sheets l0 and. I l.

The strands, strips, and sheet members are guided into their relative positions and supports in firm engagement one with th other, as diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, audit will be noted in this connection that the edges Ma, 14a of the facing strip l4 and the edges I017, ill) of the sheets are guided sumciently close together around the strand Hi to form a substantial continuous enlarged head which is faced or finished by the strip [5. When the strips and sheets are united in the single stitching operation, it will be apparent that the reality reinforcing the entire seam.

various members are drawn more closely together, thereby insuring a very firm engagement of the welt finishing strips I4 and IS with the beads formed by the strands l2 and I 3.

The strands l2 and I3 may be of any desired material depending upon the particular requirements of the article to which the seam is applied. Where the rigidity oi. the seam is of no great significance, the strands I2 and I3 may simply comprise twisted paper twine. It will be noted, however, thatwhen it is desired to reinforce the seam or stiffen the same, at least on of the strands may comprise a stiff or semi-rigid memher. For purposes of illustration the strand H! as shown in the drawing. includes a core I! of wire, reed, or other such material. The core I1 is preferably encased in a jacket I8 of twisted paper, fabric, or the like. It will be noted in this connection that reference has been made primarily to twisted paper in forming the strands or the outer Jackets 01 the reinforcing strands, since the use of paper is the most inexpensive and commercially practical construction. It will be understood, however, that fabric, rubber, or suitable synthetic materials may be employed in said strand or jacket in forming the improved welt seam on special articles.

The welt strip I4 is preferably formed 'from a tough or rugged material or a material characterized in a manner not to readily show signs of wear. Especially is this true when the resulting welt will protrude from a sharp comer of an article, as seen at I! in Fig. 1. For purposes of illustration the strip H has been indicated as comprising a leather or other tough fabric members, but it will be understood that any suitable material may be employed in the strip H to produce desired ornamental effects in the seam construction.

The secondary or inner welt finishing strip l5 may likewise be formed from any suitable material. It is important that the strip or tape l5 be of relatively strong construction, since, as will be apparent, this tape supports the'main welt facing strip as well as the sheets l and II in engagement with the strand l3 and in It will be noted in this connection that in some uses and adaptations of the improved seam, the decorative properties of the strip l will be as important as those of the strip M. It will be noted in this connection that the sheets Ill and II may be finished on both sides to produce a neat appearance on both inner and outer surfaces of an article or for that matter superimposed lining members may be employed together with the sheets lfland H, and assembled together with the other sheets. strips, and strands by the single line of stitching. The edge portions of such lining members would be arranged between the overlapping portions of a strip l5 and the edges lob, Nb of the sheets joined by said seam.

With reference to the use of reinforcing strands such as the strand l3, it will be understood that this construction may be applied to either of the strands or to both, depending upon the rigidity and form retaining properties desired in the seam. The reinforced construction is particularly adapted for use in soft zipper guides, where it is desired to maintain the general contour of the bag both when full and empty. It will be apparent, however, that the construction is equally applicable for use in larger articles of luggage, such, for example, as Gladstone bags,

wherein extreme rigidity of the welt seam is desired.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing, I have shown one modified form of welt seam of a type particularly adapted for use in articles of luggage and the like, especially where increased reinforcement of comers is desired. The seam has been indicated as Joining two facing members 2|] and 2| corresponding to the members l0 and II, shown in Fig. 1. These members have been indicated in the normal position of use by the dot and dash lines, as will be apparent. Arranged between the edges 20a. and 2|a of the facing members are a main welt forming strand 22 and a plurality of supplemental welt forming or reinforcing strands 23. The strands 22 and 23 are enveloped by a strip or tape 24 which forms the facing for the strand 22 between the joined members 20 and 2|. The tape 24 is suificiently wide to extend completely around the strands 23 and to form a four-layer thickness of the tape between the strand 22 and the strands 23. An inner finishing tape 25 is arranged outwardly of the members 20, 2| and is sufficiently wide to extend to a point in alinement with the strand 22, as will be seen in the drawing. A single line of stitching 26 is passed through the two layers of the tape 25, the four-layers of the tape 24, and through each of the members 20 and 2|, thereby uniting the various sheet, strip, and strand members to form the complete welt seam. The strands 22 and 23 may be formed from any suitable material, and if desired, one or more of the strands may include suitable reinforcing means, and for purposes of illustration, the strands 23 have been shown as including reinforcing cores 21.

With the construction shown in Fig. 3, it will be apparent that the double bead of the inner welt serves to more completely reinforce the seam or corner between the facing members 20 and 2|. In this connection, it will also be noted that the more or less triangular contour of the welt forming strands as enveloped in the facing members and finishing strips, forms something of a corner filet between the members 20 and 2| when they are arranged in the position shown by the dot and dash lines. In other words, the modified seam not only provides a stronger form retaining construction, but also insures a more finished appearance of the seam from either the inner or outer surface thereof. It will of course be apparent that the showing in Fig. 3 serves merely to illustrate the general adaptation of my improved construction to multiple corded and reinforced welt seams, and it is within the scope of the present invention to vary the particular arrangement of the strip, strand, and sheet members in adapting the improved constructio to different uses.

In any use and adaptation of the improved welt seam, it will be apparent that the parts are assembled in an extremely simple manner, and that the quantity of materials as well as the type of materials employed in making the seam insure a highly economical construction.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A welt seam for use in joining and finishing corresponding edges of predetermined sheet members, said seam comprising first and second spaced and parallel round welt forming strands disposed between adjacent surfaces of said sheet members at corresponding edges thereof with at least the first strand'disposed between and substantially encircled by' said sheet members, a welt finishing strip encircling the second of said strands, contacting the surfaces of said sheet members, and covering the major portion of the first strand, a secondary inner welt finishing strip substantially encircling the first strand and covering the sheets and part of the first strip,

both of said strips having wide overlapping portions crossing the space between said strands, 10

a single lineof stitching passing through said overlapped portions of said strips intermediate the strands and closely adjacent the second strand and through the sheet members disposed between said strips, and said line of stitching forming at opposite sides 01. the welt and be tween said strands valleys extending longitudinally of the welt facilitating folding of said sheet members.

PERCY W. VALENTINE. 

